Colonials Claim Top Three Spots in Three Separate Events

WASHINGTON – The George Washington women’s swimming team earned its first dual meet victory of the season on Saturday afternoon with a 135-114 defeat of Drexel at the Smith Center Pool.

The Colonials swept the top three spots in three separate events and claimed top honors in eight of 14 total events to down the visiting Dragons.

Junior Caroline Myers opened the day with a first-place finish in the 1,000-yard freestyle in 10:33.26. Freshman Riley LeBlanc finished in second with a time of 10:41.08.

Junior Lindsay Moore earned top honors in the 100-yard backstroke when she touched the wall in 1:00.34. Freshman Hannah Schaefer claimed fourth place with a time of 1:02.37 and junior Melissa Fernandez finished fifth in 1:02.80. Moore and Schaefer finished first and second, respectively, in the 200-yard backstroke as Moore clocked in at 2:10.69 and Shaffer finished in 2:11.19.

The Colonials took home the top three spots in the 100-yard breaststroke, led by rookie Lauren Steagall with a time of 1:07.89. Classmate Mara Debnekoff finished in second place in 1:10.55 and junior Rachel Johnson touched the wall in a close third in 1:10.90.

Junior Sloan Saunders won the 50-yard freestyle with a time of 24.87 seconds and sister Sydney Saunders finished in third in 25.0 seconds. Fernandez followed in sixth place with a time of 25.80. Sloan and Sydney Saunders and Lee then claimed the first three places in the 100-yard freestyle with .79 seconds separating the three. Sloan Saunders won with a time of 53.56 seconds, followed by Sydney Saunders in second in 54.26 and Lee in third in 54.35.

GW took home first through fourth places in the 200-yard breaststroke, paced by Steagall with a time of 2:28.36. Johnston touched the wall in 2:30.23 to finish second and Debnekoff finished third in 2:32.74. Junior Remy Neville clocked in at 2:35.99 for a fourth-place finish.

Competing in her second straight event following the 1,000 free, Myers earned a second-place finish in the 200-yard freestyle in 1:56.80. Lee touched the wall less than a second later with a third-place time of 1:57.74 and freshman Kally Vanderbilt clocked in at 1:59.79 to place fourth.

In the 500-yard freestyle, LeBlanc led GW with a second-place finish in 5:07.79. Vanderbilt finished in third with a time of 5:17.37 and junior Taylor Cole took home fourth place in 5:25.44.

GW returns to the pool on Saturday, Nov. 10 when the Colonials travel to nearby Towson. Action inside the Tigers’ Burdick Pool is slated for 1 p.m.